In hopes of solving what Walpole officials called a 30-year blight on the town, a potential cleanup solution for the South Street Superfund site is near, dependent on a Town Meeting vote.

At an informational meeting on Monday night, the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC) and other town officials presented the proposed cleanup and redevelopment plan for the asbestos contaminated site on South Street, asking Town Meeting to consider allowing Selectmen to officially take over the land. On the warrant as Article 27, Town Meeting members will consider next Wednesday whether to allow Walpole to take the South Street land into its ownership.

David Foss of the EDIC-hired consulting firm Fuss and OíNeill presented plans to put a senior center and police station on the contaminated site once cleaned to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved level.

The town started drawing up these plans nearly a year ago, Boynton said, after South Street neighbors protested a water treatment plant as planned by the current owners of the land. The state agreed to delay the treatment plant if Walpole came up with a "creative" solution to redeveloping the site.

"It really became clear that we had at our disposal the opportunity to solve two major problems, the most significant of which was the contamination of this parcel on South Street," Boynton said.

"Itís a problem, itís a nightmare," EDIC chairman Bernie Goba said. "We think itís time to correct it. Itís time for a change."

The EPA added the South Street site to its National Priority list in 1994, citing the asbestos contamination from former industrial use as hazardous to the community. Under federal law, the current owners are responsible for funding the cleanup and maintaining the siteís safety forever, even if the ownership changes hands. The owners are Tyco Healthcare Group, W.R. Grace and Company, Shaffer Realty Nominee Trust, and BIM Investment Corporation.

At Town Meeting, members will vote on Article 27, deciding whether or not Selectmen can take over the tax title on the land, putting it under Walpole ownership. Though not finalized, the town expects to have a covenant not to sue, something that would guarantee the town wonít be responsible for the multimillion-dollar tax debt on the land, or other potential legal problems.

Though the owners technically are in debt to Walpole, town counsel Mark Rich said it is unlikely the debt will ever be paid off, now some 20 years overdue. Instead, taking over the cleaned-up land free of charge, and ensuring the current owners will maintain the property, is what Rich called a good deal for the town.

Article 27 is not a fund appropriating action, meaning a yes vote would not cost the town any money.

If authorized to take the land, the townís next step- after securing all legal insurances- would regard the potential municipal facilities construction on the site. Preliminarily, Boynton has estimated a senior center, police station and multiple parking lots on the site would cost around $30 million. Currently, cleanup deadlines for the current owners are set for the end of 2015, meaning the senior center and police station, if authorized by Town Meeting, would likely be finished around 2020.

Page 2 of 2 - The site use would be limited, Boynton said, meaning it could not be used for such development as a school or other private endeavors.

"There are different levels of cleanup you have to go through," Boynton said. "It is not ever a question that itís not safe."

Foss said the site would be safe for senior and police use, though measures will be taken to prevent human contact with the soil-potentially contaminated with asbestos or other compounds. Gardening or other ground activities will not be permitted at the site.

Buildings on the site will require vapor barriers and other measures to ensure potential ground contaminants donít seep into the structures, Foss said. The extra construction cost for such barriers is somewhere around $100,000 to $200,000 for a building like the proposed police station.

In the week leading up to the Town Meeting vote, Boynton said he is still in talks with the current owners about site cleanup, trying to strike a deal that would involve the demolition of the old mill building on the west side of the lot. Still tying up legal loose ends, Boynton, backed by town counsel, said he feels confident there will be appropriate protection to the town if the property comes under municipal ownership.